We All Begged for a Special Bottling in Regular Bottles
– We Need to Show the Love
– Spring 2025 Shipping Season
2023 Vintage – Like 201 Crossed With 2019
– Classic, Classic, Classic Vintage
– The Amount of Work in the Vineyards Was Historic
– These Wines Have Always Aged Brilliantly – 2023 Will Be No Exception
2023 Paul Weltner Rodelseer Schwanleite Scheurebe Alte Reben Trocken Erste Lage
– GG-Style Scheurebe
– The Densiry of 50 Year Old Vines
– Aromas of Blackberry, Pink Grapefruit, Sage, Mineral
– Dried Lemon Pith
– White Flowers
– Palate: A Masterpiece
– Dense Exotic Fruit
– Brilliant Acidity
– But Still So Much Finesse and Cut
– Almost Like You Get in Certain Top Notch Condrieu
– The Best Scheurebe in Germany IMHO
– In Normal 750 ML Bottles – VERY LIMITED in 2023 – ONLY 69 Bottles
If You Like Chablis
– Classic Chablis Is a Rarity These Days of Higher Temperatures
German Chardonnay
– Was Illegal to Plant for a While
– Most Is More Cote de Beaune Style
– Very Few Chablis Style Wines
2023 Paul Weltner Chardonnay Rodelsee Trocken
– $25.99 on a 12 Bottle Case / INSANE VALUE/ 9.5 ON DELECTABLE
– If You Like Chablis, You Should Buy a Case
– The Most Mineral of Our German Chardonnays Hands Down
– Nose: As Precise as You’d Expect from Weltner (Very)
– Apple, Some Juuuust Ripe Pear
– Chablisienne Seashell
– Spice
– Mineral Bomb
– Palate: Concentrated and Pure
– Crisp yet Rich, Tangy yet Opulent
– Sneaky Long and Intense Focus
– Those Chablisien Acids
– Lemony Lime Finish
– Some Potpourri
– I Gave This a 9.5 Which Is More a Grand Cru Score
Massimo Bottura’s 6 Tortellini – One of the Iconic Alt Wines of Germany
Most of us have heard of Massimo Bottura, the famed 3 Michelin Star chef at Osteria Francescana who has topped the list of the greatest restaurants in the world. Likely his most famous dish was his 6 Tortellini. Tortellini in brodo is a famous dish in his region (Emilia Romagna) but Bottura took this humble dish and elevated it. He made something great from something that was considered ordinary.
Today, Paul Weltner has done the same with Scheurebe. Scheurebe has always been a fascinating niche grape. I’ve loved it but it was sort of like Sauvignon Blanc in that it was fun to drink but not super interesting. Today, we have a wine that truly shows the heights that Scheurebe can attain in the hands of a master.
This is a wine that you will want to have in your cellar. You will easily drink 4-5 of these a year. Some nights it may be with a simple meal. Some nights it may be something you pull out to shock your friends. But this wine will disappear.
“2023 is little bit like 2015. Good acid (not quite 15 acid but what is?) and expressive. Little bit lighter from the alkohol – a traditional year. But with good power.”– Paul Weltner
“Riesling as I told you – is very low in alcohol (for GG) but very pure and mineral deepness – little bit of apricot (aprikose) and very straight and deep.”
Low in alcohol is music to my ears.
The Wall of Flavor
What is The Wall of Flavor? It is an internal description of the effect that certain elite wine producers bring to the table. There are so few that do it. Generally it only happens with German wines but it can happen outside Germany at estates such as Guy Roulot. It is also only used for describing white wines. It’s when the acid, minerals, fruit and minerals explode in your palate like a dam has been released and the liquid rushes down your palate like a wall. But that wall all has flavor. The wall of flavor is intense but it does not lack focus or precision. And in Weltner’s case it has elite elegance as well which is what makes the Weltner Wall of Flavor so compelling. I’ve never not had a Weltner wine that doesn’t have The Wall of Flavor. But the finest expression of this unique vinous phenomenon is in Paul’s two Grosses Gewachs from Hoheleite. They are made from Riesling and Sylvaner and are both Fass core legend wines.
The Schuerebe
If there were a GG classification for Scheurebe this wine would be it but alas there is not, so it is just a crazy deal. The 2023 Paul Weltner Rodelseer Schwanleite Scheurebe Trocken Alte Reben Erste Lage for as little as $34.99 a bottle on a 4-pack is just epic, GG-style Scheurebe for so little. It is technically an Erste Lage but whatever you can classify the yin yang out of this wine and that would not do it justice. It is the drier and deeper of the 2 Scheurebe Paul makes from vines planted in 1968. It has under 2 grams of sugar. This is as serious as Scheurebe gets. It is the finest dry Scheurebe Germany makes. This wine is so refined it cannot be overstated and man is the ’23 deep and so filigreed. Maybe the most filigreed one yet. I ONLY have 69 bottles as it is VERY LIMITED in 2023.
The nose: Sick aromas of blackberr
On the palate, it has classic Weltner restraint along with exotic, tropical fruits that you get in Scheurebe. But so elegant at the same time. Likely the most elegant Scheurebe I’ve ever had. Terrific juiciness. Huge acids and ripeness and such balance and depth. What a massive palate impact. Terrific density and concentration. Still, amazing cut – the precision you get in wine made by the very top winemakers. Genius! Brilliant! A 95 point wine for my palate.
High Quality German Chardonnay Is Now Officially a Thing
If there is one category I’m super bullish on these days it is German Chardonnay. I am as bullish on it as I was German Pinot Noir.
When I first opened Fass Selections and started selling German Pinot Noir I was ridiculed. But I took my licks and we all know where that went. Many of the top German Pinots are in short supply and allocated and I never ever have enough for everyone.
As many of you know I have been banging the drum for German Chardonnay for a few years now. Simply put Germany is the spiritual successor to Chablis/Cote de Beaune for European Chardonnay. They are mineral-driven, have huge acidity and breadth and right now are absolutely brilliant values. Every time I visit Germany or have samples sent to me I find a new one that I add to the portfolio. To review below are the ones we sell in no particular order.
- Ziereisen Nagelin (formerly Jaspis)
- Ziereisen Hard
- Aufricht Van Hauen
- Thorle Sekt (100% Chardonnay)
- Thorle Reserve
- Dr. Wehrheim Rosenberg
- Richard Ostrreich
The Chardonnay
All are wonderful in their own way but today we have one that is the best value of them all and one that left me speechless. This is merely an Ortsweine (Village level) but it truly blew me away. The 2023 Paul Weltner Chardonnay Rodelsee Trocken is a revelation. 2023 is the fourth vintage. It is $27.99 on a 4-pack and $25.99 on a 12 bottle case. How is a wine so nimble, so pure and has an acid spine seemingly made out of Adamantium so unreal? This wine is unreal. This is the most mineral of all the German Chardonnays we offer. It is like a mineral bomb in your mouth. Chardonnay on Keuper soils is very revelatory to me and hopefully to you. The wine is just unreal.
Super mineral nose. Nose is super crisp and clean. Premier Cru Chablis with that extra German precision thrown in. Mineral and complex Also some green apple and pear. There is a complex, expansive array of minerality that comes up your nostrils like a blizzard. It is so pungent and so obvious it comes from a high acid high mineral vintage. The fruit is secondary now but I believe that with age the fruit will show like it did with the 2008’s. Unreal and expansive nose after some significant air. Spice, minerals, apple, some apple pie/juuuuust ripe pear and a hint of ChablisiennWeltner seashells. Maybe it’s in my head but I smelled it! This is much closer to Chablis than it is to the Cote de Beaune.
The palate is crisp yet rich, tangy yet opulent, and mineral yet also approachable and herbal. This is the closest thing to German Chablis I’ve ever had. This is so good. Concentrated and pure. Silky and slippery. This is just terrific. Long finish. This is such an over performer for the price. Lemony lime finish and screeching but nimble and ripe acids. Pungent minerality. Juicy and intense. Spice and complexity and huge acids. Lovely potpourri effect on the backend. Sneaky long and intense focus. Great! Very clear and very focused. Exceptional. Blown away. Insane finish is a blizzard of complexity. Palate is just terrific with huge acids, lovely chalky minerality, huge depth, slippery texture and just unreal palate presence. A brilliant brilliant deal. Chewy and complex and so precise and clean. And it’s such a value! This is an everyday drinker given the price and I’d take it over Chablis AC any day from any mediocre 3 tier producer. This is a major value and that’s why I’m offering case pricing.
The second wine is a wine that you will want to have in your cellar. You will easily drink 4-5 of these a year. Some nights it may be with a simple meal. Some nights it may be something you pull out to shock your friends. But this wine will disappear. If there were a GG classification for Scheurebe this wine would be it but alas there is not, so it is just a crazy deal.
Please call Cheryl at 949 378 5251 after emailing with your firstorder if you are a first time customer (we prefer not to receive credit card numbers over E-Mail).
OFFICE HOURS 4-7 PM
I love drinking and selecting wines – but my passion for teaching people about wine is almost as big. I’m happy to announce a block of time each day where people can call me just to chat about wine in general. These blocks are NOT intended to sell wine (I do that all day). This is to talk to me about wine pairings or great producers or how long to age wines or styles of wine making or the latest wine controversy. My goal is to help people learn more about wine and enjoy it more. Call me at 917-912-4355 from 4-7EST Monday – Friday.
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A Word about Fass Selections and Social Media
I am big into certain social media and I want people to take pictures of the wines they have received or will receive and tag me in them and share their thoughts. I a am on Instagram. Please tag me there. I also am on Delectable which I love a lot. It is Iphone/Ipad only, but it’s like Instagram meets Facebook for wine. Tag me there and find me there as well. I want to know if you liked the wine, were not moved by the wine, hated the wine or the wine gave you a religious experience. I want to know it all. Feedback is key and I will answer all feedback e-mails as quickly as I can.
For all billing and invoicing inquiries please contact Nick at accounts@fassselections.com or 646-498-6078